


Red Lacquer

by orphan_account



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drabble, Family Bonding, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-26 14:21:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13237545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Teddy does his nails. James is intrigued.





	Red Lacquer

**Author's Note:**

> If you saw this pop up earlier, I goofed and posted the wrong version. Whoops! Enjoy the real one!

Teddy Lupin had an ethereal air about him. One would think the son of a werewolf would be gruff, burly. Teddy Lupin could be compared to the elves of Tolkien, almost too pretty to look at. (There may or may not be a betting pool going about Hogwarts over Teddy secretly being part Veela.)

Today's Look had Teddy's hair unfathomably long and blond, definitely giving off the Fantasy Elf vibes. His Head Boy badge and Hufflepuff tie were gone, the bare sweater vest and slacks all he wore today. 

James Potter squinted as he looked closer. Teddy was hunched over himself, the occasional long platinum strand getting huffed away as it drifted into his vision. Teddy sat cross legged at the base of a large knotted tree next to the lake. He could smell a strong, acrid odor, not unlike the Muggle cleaners his father preferred to use in place of magical cleaning. 

James cleared his throat, and Teddy swore, hair turning a shocking pink for a moment before settling back to the blond as Teddy whipped his head around and glared. 

"Merlin's sack, James! Warn a guy!"

James snickered, slinking over and flopping down by the tree next to Teddy.

"What's got you so focused?"

Teddy hummed, looking back down to his- nails?

"Painting my nails," he simply replied.

James ruffled his messy black hair, squinting down at them. "Why not use magic? I see Lily looking at them in Witch Weekly all the time."

Teddy seemed to ponder that for a moment before shrugging, returning to his work. "'s nice, I suppose. Cathartic."

They sat in silence for a moment, the only noise the lapping waves of the lake breaking at the mossy shore. 

"Could you do mine?"

Teddy looked up again, raising one perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "You want me to do your nails?"

James flushed, embarrased. "What of it?"

Another shrug, and Teddy capped the bottle of paint he was working with- a shocking bubble gum pink. "Nothing, mate. Color?"

"Uh- Red?"

"Red it is!" a short tap of the wand and the pink was a brilliant Gryffindor red. "Hand?"

James gave his hand over, watching in interest as Teddy effortlessly glossed the red lacquer across his nails, the color a stark contrast to his battered and calloused Quidditch hands. It felt- oddly nice. Relaxing. 

"It _is_ nice."

"Mmmmhm," Teddy agreed and started on his left hand. 

James relaxed against the tree they sat by, enjoying the stillness of the day and spending an unexpected afternoon with his brother.

(He also had the added benefit of showing off his nails at Quidditch the next day.)

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed. My Teddy is an absolute garbage fire mary sue and I love him. 
> 
> I'm also on twitter @weshouldfondue. I mostly tweet about the podcast The Adventure Zone but general fan stuff ends up on there as well.


End file.
